GIRONAIn August 2020 Pablo Cortacero, the Granada representative in Spain of the investment fund Benel International, based in Luxembourg, entered Romania to buy Dinamo Bucharest. He took Rufo Collado, linked to Pere Guardiola, today in Girona’s shareholding, in a common past in Granada. They wanted to project a history of Romanian football that had problems. It wasn’t even a few months ago that some of the fans had put money out of their own pockets to avoid financial bankruptcy. Cortacero arrived with promises.
And with signings, many of them Spanish: Borja Valle, Isma López, Juan Cámara, René or Tomás Mejías joined the squad trained by Cosmin Contra. “It turned out that it was all a lie. He paid absolutely nothing and in January we had to leave,” they admitted angrily. Among the new arrivals were also members of the coaching staff. And Aleix Garcia, the Ulldecona midfielder who was looking to reclaim his football. He too had to pack his bags, fed up with defaults on payments. Three years later he triumphed in Montilivi.
The 10 players who generate the most chances
Among the five major European leagues (League, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
Branco van den Boomen (Toulouse)
Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina)
Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Gerard Deulofeu (Udinese)
Kieran Trippier Newcastle
Branco van den Boomen Toulouse
Cristiano Biraghi Fiorentina
Bruno Fernandes M. United
Kieran Trippier Newcastle
Cristiano Biraghi Fiorentina
Bruno Fernandes M. United
Trained in Vila-real, Aleix was one of the footballers that Manchester City spotted and incorporated in 2015, in a strategic plan of the group that mixes sport and business. From the City Football Group they control a lot of clubs around the planet, including Girona. And in recent years they have signed all the talent they could, and distributed them where they fit best. Football players tend to increase in value over time and sales tend to make a profit.
Aleix was one of the footballers that City loaned to Montilivi when they were promoted to Primera in 2017. In fact, he played there for the two years it lasted; particularly productive the second, with more individual participation despite the team’s relegation. From there he went to Belgium, to Mouscron. And then came Romania. The blow was hard, but it ended the season at Eibar, where they were relegated to Segona.
Vindicate yourself to remove the thorn
“The Aleix who was here before was 21 and 22 years old. Now I’m 24 and I’ve had time to live experiences that have made me grow as a footballer and also as a person. I’ve returned to Girona being a little more mature and with a great desire to vindicate myself. Why? For a little bit of everything. Because of the relegation, but also because I want to play more minutes than I played then. I want to be a person who can contribute things to this club,” he said the footballer in his third presentation with the white-and-red shirt, in the summer of 2021. The coach was already Míchel and Girona had just lost the second final of play-off consecutive.
The data explains everything: indisputable with the Madrid coach, he was one of the outstanding pieces of Girona’s promotion to Primera. But his definitive explosion has come this season, in which, according to Opta, he is the eighth footballer with the most chances generating opportunities in the five major European leagues (strategy and open field plays are counted). And in Montilivi everything happens for Aleix, who with 50 chances created during the first round of the competition, is only surpassed by De Bruyne (City), Trippier (Newcastle), Honorat (Brest), Boomen (Toulouse), Biraghi ( Fiorentina), Bourigeaud (Rennes) and Iago Aspas (Celta), tied with Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and leaves behind Deulofeu (Udinese), Neymar (PSG) or Kimmich (Bayern Munich), among others. In Spain, Aleix is third in passes (behind Kroos and Parejo and ahead of Pedri and Santi Bueno) and has distributed four goal assists.